Judge Blocks Trump’s Ban on Youth Gender Transition Care!
A federal judge in Seattle has halted two of Donald Trump’s executive orders aimed at cutting federal funding for programs supporting gender identity and blocking research grants for healthcare providers offering gender transition care to minors.
U.S. District Judge Lauren King ruled that the orders were discriminatory and an overreach of presidential power, emphasizing that only Congress controls federal spending. She extended a restraining order in Washington, Minnesota, Oregon, and Colorado, preventing enforcement until the case is resolved.
King condemned Trump’s directive defining sex strictly as male or female, stating it attempts to erase transgender identities and deny gender-affirming care. Another federal judge in Baltimore has also temporarily blocked the orders nationwide.
This ruling is one of several legal setbacks for Trump’s administration as courts continue to challenge his executive actions on immigration, diversity programs, and transgender rights.
Federal Judge Blocks Trump’s Orders Restricting Youth Gender Care
Washington, Minnesota, and Oregon sued the Trump administration in February after Trump signed a Jan. 28 executive order cutting Medicare and Medicaid funding for healthcare providers offering gender transition care to minors—defined as individuals under 19. The order also directed federal officials to pressure medical schools and hospitals to stop providing such care, which the administration referred to as “chemical and surgical mutilation.” Colorado joined the lawsuit on Feb. 19, expanding the case to challenge another executive order that sought to erase transgender identities from federal policy.
The four states argued that the orders would prevent doctors from treating gender dysphoria, leading to severe consequences like anxiety, depression, self-harm, and suicide among transgender youth. Gender-affirming care, including puberty blockers and hormone therapy, is widely endorsed by medical experts as lifesaving.
In her ruling, U.S. District Judge Lauren King stated that the executive orders violate the Fifth Amendment by discriminating based on sex and transgender status. She highlighted the inconsistency, noting that a cisgender teen could receive puberty blockers for cancer treatment, while a transgender teen with the same condition could not.
Washington Attorney General Nick Brown praised the ruling, calling Trump’s actions an “obvious and intentional” disregard for the Constitution. However, King denied a request to block a separate provision in the executive order related to female genital mutilation, citing a lack of credible prosecution threats.